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'Next Knuckler' winner Booty off to D-backs camp

Josh Booty is crowned winner of the MLB Network's series 'The Next Knuckler,' earning a non-roster invite to the D-backs' Spring Training

By Cash Kruth

If you thought R.A. Dickey was the last knuckleballer, think again.

Former Major League infielder and Louisiana State quarterback Josh Booty was named the winner of "The Next Knuckler," MLB Network's first reality series competition, Thursday evening. The victory earns Booty a non-roster invitation to the Arizona Diamondbacks' Spring Training camp, to which he'll report Friday.

Booty defeated another past NCAA quarterback, former Georgia signal caller David Greene, by pitching against junior college hitters in a three-inning game to win the competition.

Booty, 37, beat out Greene, former NFL quarterback Doug Flutie, former LSU and Jacksonville State quarterback Ryan Perrilloux and his little brother, John David, who was QB at Southern Cal before a brief NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings.

Despite being new to the knuckleball, this won't be Booty's first Spring Training. He was the fifth-overall pick by the Marlins in the 1994 First-Year Player Draft and appeared in 13 Major League games for the Marlins from 1996-98.

Cash Kruth is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @cashkruth. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.